Internal-combustion engine



Feb. 25, 1930. H. T. HERR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed Nov. 16, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ATTORNEY WITNESS Feb. 25, 1930. H. T. HERR 1,748,478

' I INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed Nov. 1e, 192e 2 Sheets-sheet 2 2| Z. 63 vs xls l5 y O o o o O e l G\ ll l i :I

. WITNESS Fu.6. INVENTOR l -Hmnefr Y BY I GM ATTORNEY VPatented Feb. 2s, 1930 UNIT-12D STATES PATENT oFFIcE HERBERT T. HERR, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC-8a MANUFACTURING COME-ANY, A CORPORATION 0F PENNSYLVANIA INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE Application lef November 16, 1928. Serial No. 319,982. j

My invention relates tointernal combustion engines and particularly to engines of the square or polygon type, that is, engines composed of a pluralityol alternately-arranged cylinders and crank shafts disposed in square or polygonal formation such as disclosed in my copending application Serial No.- 102,043 and 'entitled Diesel engine, this application being a continuation in part of subject matter divided from my aforesaid application Serial N o. 102,043. The invention has for an object to provide an engine of the character designated with improved supporting means for the engine cylinders which will permit of the l ready removal or replacement of any one cylinder or group of cylinders without necessi-l tating dismantling of the engine and without disturbing the remaining cylinders.

These and other objects are eected by my zo invention, as will be apparent from the following description and claims taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view of one-form :s of polygonal engine and illustrating, diagrammatically,.the method of removing the cylinders from the engine;

Fig. 2 is a detail view, partly in elevation, of one of the cylinders shown in Fig. 1

3o ltogether with its retaining or supporting structure; Y

Fig. 3 is a view, in sectional elevation of the cylinder shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a transverse view, in section, taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a view, partly in plan and partly in section, of the engine and showing the upper cylinder in cross-section, the lower and the right cylinders in elevation and the U left cylinder removed; and

'Fig 6 is a sectional View taken on` the line VI-VI of'Fig. 5.

Engines of the square or polygonal type, as proposed by me, comprise a plurality of sets of alternately-arranged cylinders and crank shafts disposed in side-by-side relation, the crank shafts being located at the vertices of the polygon. In engines of this character, l cylinders of the opposed piston -typc are geni'" erally employed, the respective crank shafts extending along the edges or corners of the polyhedron formed by the several sets and connecting through suitable connecting rods to the pistons disposed ifn the adjacent cylinder ends. With engines of this character, the respective cylinders are interposed or disposed between the adjacent crank shafts and y tical utility of engines of the square or polyp gonal type is very much enhanced in that any one cylinder or any desired group of cylinders may be readily removed or replaced without disturbing or dismantling other portions of the engine or without affecting the remaining cylinders.

Referringy now to the drawings for a detailed description of my invention, yI show in Figs. 1 and 5 an engine frame 10 consisting of a plurality of plate members 11 forming a'square or polygon provided with suitable corner or trough members 12 extending along the corner regions thereof. The trough members 12' are provided with extending ilange portions 13 for supporting cylinders 1,5.

As shown in Fig. 3, each of the cylinders 15 is provided with opposed pistons 16--16 connected to respective crank shafts 17-17 through suitable connecting rods 18--18, the crank' shlfts 17 extending between adjacent flange members 1 3 and being carried in suitable bearings 19, as shown in Fig. 5. Interposed between adjacent cylinders are tension members ortie plates 21 ixedly connected at their respective ends to the flange members 13. The tension members 21 are disposed on all sides of the polygon and connect with the bearings 19 so as to lend strength to the entirel engine structure. In addition, they may also perform the function of relieving the cylinders 15 of engine working forces. For a more detailed description of this structure, reference may be had to my aforesaid copending application, Serial No. 102,043.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 2 and 4 for one method of securing the cylinders in accordance with my invention, it is apparent that the flange members 13 are provided with suitable openings 22, which openings register, respectively, with the axes of the cylinders 15. Each opening 22 may be provided with a flanged ring 23, the flanged ring 23 being secured to the flange portions 13 by any snitable disconnectible means, such as bolts 24. The cylinder length may be somewhat less than the distance between the parallel flange portions 13 so as to permit the insertion of asbestos or other suitable packing material, as at 25. v

Each cylinder is provided with means with which means carried by the supporting structure cooperates to resist longitudinal movement bodily. For example, the cylinder 15 may be provided with a circumferential flange 26 midway of its length and on each side of the cylinder there is disposed upon this iiange 26 aradially-projecting lug 27. In' addition, a clamping device is formed by suitably shaped plates 28 which conform to the angle between the frame plate 11 and the tension members 21 and then project inwardly and upwardly to provide two upstanding arms 29 which embrace the lug 27, a clearance preferably beingleft of, for example 1/32 of an inch. As may be seen from Fig. 2, a relatively long, slender screw 31 passes through one of the arms 29 and it is unsupported for a portion of its length adjacent to the lug 27, as indicated by the large counterbore at 32, said screw being set up against the lug 27.

By means of the foregoing supporting structure, each of the cylinders 15 is restrained against longitudinal movement by being secured at its central portion by the lug .27 and the arms 29 while at the Sametime it is free to expand and contract lengthwise with respect to the point of support. In addition, the cylinders are restrained from lateral movement by fthe rings 23 and the pacl'- ing 25.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that any one or any group of cylinders may be readily removed in the manner diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 1 by, first of all, li'enioving the connecting rods 18 and their associated pistons 16 in the conventional manner-together with any intake, exhaust or other pipe connections that may be in the way and thereafter relieving the screw 31 and removing the bolts 24. j Removal of the bolts 24 permits the flange rings 23 to be removed from the engine with the cylinder. In this way, the cylinder is withdrawn laterally between the adjacent flange members 13 Without further dismantling of the engine structure. It is therefore, apparent that,

should any cylinder or cylinders become defective for any reasons whatsoever, they may be easily and readily replaced.

As shown in Fig. 5, each of the cylinders 15 is provided with an inlet or ,scavenging port 41 and .an outlet or exhaust port 42. The inlet or scavenging port 41 is surrounded by a suitable housing 42 communicating with an opening 43 in the adjacent frame plate 11 sopas to give free communication with the large central or polygonal space delined by the engine frame 10, which space may be readily utilized as a supply chamber for scavenging air. A suitable housing 44 is provided for each outlet or exhaust port, which outlet or exhaust ports communicate with suitable exhaust `trunks 45. In addition, each' Vcylinder 15 vis provided with three lateral protuberances 46, 47 and 48, shown particularly in Fig. 4, which may abut against the frame plate 11, as shown, or which may be disposed at some other location so as not to abut against the frame plate 11 The' protnberances 46. 47' and 48 are joined, in any desirable mannei', to lines for the admission of fuel, injection air, if desired, and starting air, andinasmucli as the particular type of fuel injection apparatus employed forinsno part of the present invention, I have deemed it unnecessary to encumber the drawings with the details thereof.

Obviously, if desired, the exhaust trunk 45 might be formed in sections associated with respective groups of cylinders or, as shown in Fig. 4, a separate section of exhaust trunk may be mounted unitarywith each cylinder 15, which sections are joined together by suitable j oint-s. such as indicated at 49, thus, not only providing for expansion between the exhaust trunk sections but also making a. complete cylinder and exhaust trunk unit or complete cylinder group and exhaust trunk unit, any number of which may be assembled ltd in a given engine aggregate. More particularly, the exhaust trunk section 51 terminates in conduit end portions 52 and the adjacent conduit end portions 52 have disposed therebetween a ring member 53. Clamping rings 54 serve to clamp packing 55 in place with respect to the conduit end portions 52 and the ring 53. It will, therefore, be seen that this mode of connection assures a gas tight exhaust conduit while, at the same time, permits the exhaust conduit section 51 to be removed with its associated cylinder as a'unit, lateralli7 from the engine frame structure. As will he apparent from inspection of Fig. 4, this may be readily accomplished by disconnecting the bolts 56.

Referring now to Fig. 6. this figure shows a slightly different form of structure for supporting the central portion of the engine cylinders. However, the inode of removing and replacing the cylinders is the saine as that diagrainniatically illustrated in Fig. 1.

-venting axial displacementv ofthe cylinders,

I provide a lug 61 at the central portion of each cylinder, which lug may beleither lformed integrally with the cylinder ,or4 secured thereto. W'hile other arrangements may beiV employed, I prefer to locate the tension 'members 21 on each side of each cylinder so that there are two of said tension members adjacent each' cylinder. On eachside of the ten-j, sion member 21 there is providedbifurcated retaining members 62 which` are arranged to straddle the lugs 61 in orderl to restrain the cylinders 15 from longitudinal or axial movement. The bifurcations on the members 62 are made so as to provide clearance with respect to the lugs 61, as shown in Fig.4 5. The lugs 6l, and consequently the cylinders 15, are positioned with respect to the retaining means 62 by vsuitable pins- 63 which are threaded through properly arranged holes in one side." of the bifurcated members 62 and which have their ends bearing against the lugs 6l. As disclosed and claimed in a copending application of Alexander T. Kasleys, Serial No. 179,7 66, assigned to the "Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, the pins 63 may be made only strong enough to withstand the normal frictional restraints existing between the pistons 16 and the walls ofthe cylinders 15 so that should any of the pistons become stuck in its cylinder or should excessive friction arise between a piston and its cooperating cylinder, the associated retaining pin 63 is crushed. In this way, the cylinder is freed to some extent from `its retaining means, and, inasmuch as the retaining pins 63 are visible. the defect may be readily noted and the cylinder replaced.

Referring to Fig. 5, it is apparent that the length of each of thefcylinders 15 is somewhat less than the distance interveningl between' the flange members 13 so that, by detaching the rings 28 from the Hange'members 13, the rings may be moved toward the central portion of the'cylinder so as to be clear of the flange portions after which the cylinder may be withdrawn laterally from the engine structure by relieving the screw 63.

It will therefore beapparent that `I have devised a form of cylinder supporting structure for engines of the vopposed piston type or engines of the polygonal type which will mate rially improve the practicability .of engines of this character in that the removal or replacement of any one or any group of cylinders may be easily and readily accomplished.

While I' h ave shown my invention in several forms, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various other changes and modifications, without departing from the spirit thereof,

, fixed lbetwee t cylinder foriestr inv j and I desire, therefore, .that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are imposed by the prior art or as are specifically set forth in the appended., claims. l

What. I claiirrfis 1.* Inaninty nal combustion engine, .the-

combination of afjsupporting` frame embodying extendingangemembers, a cylinder f di? gibet.. 'the iange members, retainingyme'mbe stp'rovided at each end of the cylinder-for supporting. thef same, and removable nan or Vsecuring the retaining members;L of th gglngefmembers..

alfcombustion engine, the yupporting .frame embodynge members, a cylinder dedat each en d of the y. y g the sameagainst laterallmvementjbutpermitting axial expansi'vefmovementpthereof,and removable means ing meinberspf fori;V ecuring the supporting members to the flange'. members.M

r-In an'nterna `coiiibustion engine, the

`combination `of a supporting frame embodyingv extendingvfange members, a cylinder disposed betweenand transversely of the iiange members,` means provided on the supporting frame `and? cooperating with an intermediate portion'of the cylinder and disconnectible therefrom jfor securing the cylinder longitudinally,`fretaining `members provided at the cylinder'ends 4for preventing lateral displacement ofthe same, and removable means for securingthe retaining members to the flange members. 1, Y

4. In an internal combustion engine, the combination ofa supporting frame arranged in the .form of a polygon and including pairs of extending fiange members provided each side of the polygon and having openings formed therein, a cylinder disposed between and laterally of the fiange members of iange members, supporteach pair. crank shafts disposed between ad- I land for permitting freedom of longitudinal expansive movement of the engine cylinders, and means for detachably supporting the ring members upon their associated flange members, whereby each cylinder may be laterally removed from the polygon.

5. In an internal combustion engine, the combination of an engine frame, a plurality of cylinders disposed in side-by-side relamanifold, whereby the Cylinders and their associated exhaust conduit sections may be detached, as a unit, from the engine frame.

6. In an internal combustion engine. the combination of an engine frame, a plurality of cylinders disposed in side-b v-side relation, each of said cylinders being provided with an inlet and an exhaust port, means for detachahly supporting each cylinder upon the engine lframe, exhaust conduit sections secured to each cylinder and communicating with the exhaust port thereof, and an expansion joint for detachably connecting the conduit sections together so as to permit relative expansion and contraction of the respective sections, whereby each cylinder and its associated exhaust conduit section may be detached, as a unit, from the engine frame.

'i'. In an internal combustion engine, the combi-nation of a supporting frame, a plurality of cylinders'disposed in side-by-side relation, each .of said cylinders being provided with an inlet and an exhaust port, crank shafts extending in substantially the plane of the cylinder 'axes and disposed adjacent to each end of the cylinders, opposed pistons in the cylinders and connected to adjacent crank shafts, exhaust conduit sections se.- cured to the respective cylinders and communicating with the exhaust port-s thereof, means for detachably connecting the conduit sections together so as to provide an exhaust manifold, and means for supporting the cylinders upon the supporting frame and proriding for their removal lateral-ly from bctween the crank shafts, whereby the cylinders and their associated exhaust conduit sections may be removed, as a unit, from the supporting frame.

8. In an internal combustion engine, the combination of a polyhedral engine frame, crank shaftsextendingalong the corner regions of the frame, groups of cylinders interposed between the crank shafts and disposed adjacent to the side of the frame, opposed pistons in each cylinder and connecti ed to adjacent crank shafts, each of said cylinders being provided with an inlet and an exhaust port, conduit sections secured to the respective cylinders and; communicating with the exhaust ports thereof, means for detachably connecting the conduit sections of the cylinders of each group so as to provide. an exhaust manifold for each group, and

' means for supporting each cylinder upon the frame and providing for its removal laterally from between the crank shafts, whereby each cylinder and its associated exhaust conduit section Inay be-detached, as a unit, from the frame.

9. In an engine of the opposed piston type,

cylinder, opposed pistons in the cylinder andv connected to the crank shafts, supporting means for the crank shafts, retaining elements litt-ing the cylinder exteriorly at the ends thereof and capable of axial movement relatively thereto, and detachable means for securing the retaining elements to said supporting means and providing, when detached, for lateral removal of the cylinder.

1l. In an engine of the opposed piston type, the combination of a cylinder, crank shafts disposed adjacent to the ends of the cylinder, opposed pistons in the cylinder and connected to the crank shafts, supporting means for the crank shafts, rings embracing the ends of the cylinder, and detachable means for securing the rings to said supporting means and providing, when detached, for lateral removal of the cylinder.

12. In an engine o the opposed piston type, the combination of a cylinder, crank shafts disposed adjacent to the ends of the cylinder, opposed pistons in the cylinder and connected to the crank shafts, supporting means for the crank shafts, rings embracing` the ends of tlieicylinder and movable axially relatively thereto` and detachable bolts for securing the rings to said supporting means and providing, when detached, for lateral removal of the cylinder.

In testimony whereof. I have hereunto subscribed my name this first day of November, 192s.

HERBERT T. HERR. 

